Apprehension over online CAT exam

Updated on: Friday, November 20, 2009

Chennai: The Common Admission Test for admissions to IIMs will go online from this year for the first time and candidates still have no clear idea about the test pattern

The Union Cabinet in late August, approved the HRD ministry's proposal to set up seven new IIMs. In the first phase, four IIMs at Tiruchi in Tamil Nadu, Ranchi in Jharkhand, Raipur in Chhattisgarh and Rohtak in Haryana will become operational from next year. These will be in addition to the existing six IIMs.

Ramkumar S, final year B Com student of Loyola College who is keen on joining the IIMs, says: 'I have been studying informally for the CAT for the first two years since joining college and have been attending regular coaching classes for the last one year. However, I was always apprehensive about leaving my parents alone here while I went away to study in the event of my getting into one of the IIMs. With the new IIM in Tiruchi I won't be far away.' Apart from the Bharathidasan Institute of Management, which has its own entrance test, few B-schools in the state come close to being tagged as top institutions.

With the four new institutions, the IIMs' intake will rise by 140 students in the PG course. The number of applicants taking the test this year has come down to 2.41 lakh from 2.46 lakh last year.
The two factors could mean that this year the IIMs will have a lower cut-off. Specially because except IIM-Ahmedabad the other IIMs usually send out more call letters than the number of seats because those who get calls from more than one IIM stand the chance of getting rejected for various reasons, ranging from distance to hometown to hostel accommodation and food.

'Still there is no way to find out how the test pattern will be and the weight age allotted to each of the three sections quantitative, verbal, and logical and data interpretive abilities. So with 10 days to go for the test I advise my students to focus on weak areas during the first five days so as to not lag behind in the sectional cut-off and to revise what they've learnt during the last five days. Because without a decent sectional cut-off even a percentile of 99 will not help you get a call from the IIMs,' says S Sriganesh, head of CAT coaching centre Dreamchasers.

Apprehension over online CAT exam

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